ISLAMABAD: After multiple delays, the federal government has finally fixed December 4 as the date for the inaugural meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC). The session, to be chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, will set the procedural groundwork for upcoming discussions on horizontal and vertical resource-sharing among the Centre and provinces.
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The meeting’s agenda includes formulating a strategy for deliberations on the new NFC award, establishing thematic sub-groups, and reviewing fiscal presentations by all four provinces and the federal finance ministry. The commission will also finalise a schedule for future sittings, expected to rotate between federal and provincial capitals. Officials confirm that the date was initially set for December 3 but was shifted within hours.
The 11th NFC, constituted on August 22, has already faced repeated postponements — first in August, then in November — due to administrative requests, provincial commitments and last-minute directives from the Prime Minister’s Office. The commission is tasked with recommending the distribution of federal divisible pool taxes, evaluating grants-in-aid, and settling expenditure-sharing mechanisms, including those linked with national projects and provincial responsibilities.
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The federal government is also expected to push for provincial cost-sharing in climate-related disasters, major infrastructure projects and social-sector programmes, aligning with IMF recommendations. This comes amid longstanding concerns that both federal and provincial governments failed to meet revenue enhancement commitments made under the 7th NFC award. While the Constitution mandates consensus for any new award, political consultations are expected to intensify ahead of the December 4 meeting.